Choosing Consulting vs Tech after MBA

During my second year in the MBA, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon the problem of plenty while choosing the career. I was primarily deliberating between joining a consulting firm or a tech company.

Not able to narrow down to any particular option, I was inclined towards taking up a consulting offer. My consulting preparation was at a peak.

In parallel, I was also interviewing with a few tech companies. I was confused after getting an offer from BrowserStack (a mid-size firm, amazing team, strong business footing with sound financials).

Should I continue the status quo or should I take up the tech offer?

After much deliberation, talking to people, and doing soul searching, here is how I had concluded:

The case I had solved in Jan 2019 while deliberating my options → The title was given after arriving at the conclusion

The above structure may give you a framework to look at various factors. But, you need to evaluate those for yourself objectively, keeping your opportunities and preferences in mind.

Finally, I decided to join BrowserStack, opted out of further placements, and was excited to see how the journey will take the shape. Writing this after ~2 years of taking this decision, I loved my experience at BrowserStack, the friends I made, and the things I learnt about startups, growth & product.

Consider the below text to be a post-script:

Some folks felt that I was already inclined towards tech, so adding a few pointers to clarify some things around takeaway:

• The takeaway is the framework to evaluate your choices objectively and not my context which is unique to me. Tech is better than consulting is NOT a takeaway.
• Further, I spoke to many people to identify the pros/cons of each option. The case synthesizes that. I was inclined to take consulting for its branding part as it is a matter of great prestige if you can become part of tier 1 consulting firms. To imagine the situation, you have to keep yourself in the shoe of a person who has put in significant efforts and returned after reaching very close to the goal post.
• The major decision from the case itself was, if it is about just branding then it is a pass. I withdrew all my consulting applications after writing the case.